Everything that follows is older than Ed Sheeran: A look back at 1990

In 1990, The first McDonald’s opened in Moscow; Nelson Mandela was released from prison after twenty seven years confinement; Namibia, the Marshall Islands, and Micronesia became independent nations; East and West Germany reunified; The Hubble Space Telescope launched; The World Health Organization removed homosexuality from its list of diseases; Iraq invaded Kuwait; Tim Berners-Lee started… Continue reading Everything that follows is older than Ed Sheeran: A look back at 1990

Mr. Holland smoked some locusts in the park with Adaline; now he’s departed

  Mr. Holland’s Opus (1995) Musician Glenn Holland (Richard Dreyfus) takes a temporary job as a music teacher, but, as his idol John Lennon once sang, “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.” After thirty years in this temporary job, Mr. Dreyfus is forced to retire. On his last day of school, a… Continue reading Mr. Holland smoked some locusts in the park with Adaline; now he’s departed

America entered its twenty second decade: A look back at 1986

In 1986, Pixar Animation Studios opened; Halley’s Comet made its second visit to our solar system in the twentieth century; The The Legend of Zelda was released; A mishandled safety test at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant killed over 4000 people; The Space Shuttle Challenger disintegrated 73 seconds after launch; Len Bias died of a cocaine overdose 48 hours after being… Continue reading America entered its twenty second decade: A look back at 1986

Everything that follows is older than Hit Girl: A look back at 1996

In 1996, The murder of nine-year-old Amber Hagerman inspired the creation of the AMBER Alert system; Deep Blue defeated Garry Kasparov; Major League Soccer began its inaugural season; The Unabomber was arrested; The Nintendo 64 was released in Japan and the United States; Alanis Morisette’s Jagged Little Pill won the Grammy for Album of the Year; Dolly the sheep, the first cloned… Continue reading Everything that follows is older than Hit Girl: A look back at 1996

Elmo holds a grudge

  The Raid 2 (2014) Immediately after the events of The Raid (2011), Rama reluctantly agrees to join an undercover task force. To earn the trust of Bangun, a local crime lord, he goes undercover in prison to befriend his son, Uco, and takes a position with Bangun’s organization after his release. When a slighted Uco… Continue reading Elmo holds a grudge

Three kings with fantastic hair

  The King of Comedy (1983) Rupert Pupkin (Robert De Niro) is an aspiring comedian looking for his big break. He idolizes talk show host Jerry Langford (Jerry Lewis) and dreams of one day performing on his program.  When he meets his idol, Pupkin think he’s finally made it, but Langford is dismissive of his talent,… Continue reading Three kings with fantastic hair

The myth of the farmer’s big wedding

  The Big Wedding (2013) Alejandro convinces his divorced, adoptive parents Don (Robert Deniro) and Ellie (Diane Keaton) to pretend they’re still married to appease his birth mother’s Catholic faith when she comes to his wedding. During their pretend reunion, Don and Ellie rekindle their relationship with a sexual liaison which forces long-buried family secrets into… Continue reading The myth of the farmer’s big wedding

Wagging the dog in the jungle

  The Jungle Book (1967) Inspired by Rudyard Kipling’s novel, Bagheera, a black panther, takes an orphaned boy he finds in the jungle to live with a pack of wolves. Years later, the wolf tribe learns Shere Khan (George Saunders) has returned to the jungle and realize the young boy, Mowgli, is in danger. Despite his protests,… Continue reading Wagging the dog in the jungle